The Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Asia, which brings family reunions, live festivities and, for the logistics industry, an intense period of increased activity. This annual holiday is a temporary break in manufacturing and dealing with China and Hong Kong, which sends ripple effects across global supply chains.
But like data from Global Logistics System (HK) CO., Ltd. (GLS) shows, the impact on air cargo movements is developing, with digitization playing an increasingly important role in softening seasonal disruptions.
The months before the Lunar New Year, there is usually an increase in air freight activity, while businesses move to goods before factories and logistical activities for the holiday delay.
“In the two months before the New Year of the Lunar (December 2024 and January 2025), the number of shipping made from Hong Kong by our portal, Ezycargo, increased by 18% and 15% respectively. In China, the shipping increased by 12% compared to the previous month, ”says Kitty Wong, marketing manager at GLS.
This revival is not a new phenomenon, but 2025 had a special increase. Compared to the same period in 2024, total shipping grew by almost 25%, while the shipping from China increased by an even higher 40%.
Although the boom is visible in shipping before the holidays, many people expect a sharp decline in air freight ability, as businesses are near the celebrations. However, Wong notes that the impact of factory closures this year was less significant:
“From our numbers we see that although there was an expected downward trend in capacity closer to the holidays, the overall impact on global air freight movements was less severe than in previous years.”
One of the most important shifts in air freight is the increasing dependence on technology to manage fluctuations in demand. GLS, for example, has launched EZYFHL, a feature designed to help users manage complex home data in air freight, especially in e-commerce shipping.
“When agencies and airlines handle thousands of entries in a single consignment, EZYFHL allows them to submit data into a few clicks,” explains Wong.
This type of automation reduces the processing time from 30 minutes to just five, increases efficiency and ensures accurate documentation even during the peak season.
For carriers, digital platforms also increase the visibility in the supply chain, which helps airlines to respond to disruptions faster. As Wong points out: “Carriers benefit from accurate data and digital tracking instruments, which reduces the delay of the shipment by human error in peak periods.”
Will moon impact of New Year weaken over time?
With continued advances in technology, some industry experts predict that the seasonal disruptions caused by the Moon’s New Year can gradually reduce. Automation, robotics, AI, and blockchain-based logistics solutions streamlined global supply chains, enabling more efficient inventory management and production planning.
“The moon impact on New Year’s global logistics will be minimized in the long run, as technology is still transforming supply chains,” Wong predicts.
